For the past 20 years Houston-based Larry Da Leopard has covered his entire body with over 1,000 leopard spots to achieve his goal of becoming a “manimal”, part man, part animal. He refers to himself as The Leopard Man.

Larry says he started getting tattoos with his friends in a time when skin inking was considered taboo, as a way of acting rebellious, but he never stopped. Even after covering his entire body, including the years and private parts, with tattoos, he considers himself a work in progress. He constantly adds new leopard spots wherever they still fit, and retouches his older ones if they fade after prolonged sun exposure. Although he says his parents cried the first time they saw his face full of permanent leopard spots and admits they make him look like a cartoon character, Larry is proud of the way he looks and likes showing off his skin art in public. He often goes out wearing only a Tarzan-inspired loin cloth and an animal-print coat, and hands out fliers for his tattoo parlor to passers-by.

Photo: kimbee/TeamPlayerGaming

While Larry enjoys being the Leopard Man, he still had to face the consequences of his decision. In the beginning people were freaked out by his bizarre appearance and wouldn’t even talk to him, and he admits getting job offers is tough when you have dozens of leopard spots tattooed on your face. Luckily, it all worked out for him, as he now runs his own tattoo business and actually uses his body as advertisement.

We’ve featured extreme tattoos before, from those of literally blue man Vladimir Franz to the Na’vi-inspired skin art of Mr. Avatar, so you can say Larry Da Leopard is in good company on Oddity Central.

Source:  National Geographic